Jatropha
Oil Fields
– tomorrow's oil source.
With apparent shortcomings of other renewable fuels sources, the
enthusiasm for initiating today’s jatropha curcas plantations
which will be tomorrow’s oil fields has increased among the
large and small scale oil and plantation companies which can
also make use poor lands with minimal water sources.
Analysis of the bioenergy market suggests that jatropha, which
can be grown in variable conditions with little water or
fertilizer, could be used to produce a barrel of fuel for
around $43, less than the cost of sugar cane-based
ethanol ($45 per barrel) or corn-based ethanol ($83 per
barrel). Further, because jatropha isn't edible and grows on
land unsuitable for foods crops, its expansion doesn't
compete with traditional food production.
Unlike soybeans, canola and many other agricultural sources
of biodiesel, Jatropha can be cultivated on arid and semi arid
non-agricultural land. This means growing Jatropha never has to
compete with growing food. Also, on a per acre basis ,Jatropha
can yield up to 10 times the amount of oil as other sources of
biodiesel. Finally, Jatropha is a perennial, lasting up to
50 years without replanting.
The byproducts like jatropha curcas cake (portion of the seed left
over after extraction of the seed’s oil) is full of nitrogen
compounds making it an excellent organic fertilizer. After
4 or 5 years of treatment with this “cake” the soil of
this originally non-agricultural land will be suitable for
planting food crops or trees for reforestation.
|
